Loop pile fabrics are used in a variety of end uses, including but not limited to such things as cleaning products, hook and loop fasteners, carpets, and the like. Among other things, such fabrics are valued for their softness, ability to pick up particles, moisture absorption, and the like.
For example, loop pile fabrics have been found to perform well in the manufacture of wiping cloths of the variety used in residential and commercial cleaning. These wiping cloths are generally circularly knit and have an integrally knit, short loop pile (i.e. on the order of 1 mm) of fine denier yarns. The pile is formed from splittable yarns of nylon and polyester, which separate during processing of the fabric to produce a pile which has good moisture absorption and small particle pick up.
Another type of commercially available wiping cloth is made from a warp knit fabric having an integrally formed pile of relatively longer pile loops (i.e. on the order of 2 mm long) formed from splittable fibers. While providing good large and small particle pick up, these cloths have several disadvantages. For one, the long microdenier fiber loops have a tendency to pick up oils from the user""s skin, often leading to complaints of hand dryness. In addition, the long loops have a tendency to snag on a user""s skin, leading to significant user discomfort and an overall negative aesthetic impact.
One disadvantage associated with prior loop pile fabrics is that they are limited in their aesthetic characteristics, particularly where it is important to have consistent performance characteristics across the dimension of the fabric. Heretofore, methods for patterning loop pile fabrics have been limited to printing a pattern on the fabric surface or forming the fabric using a jacquard weave or knit process. Where printing is used, it is difficult to achieve a consistent or defined pattern, due to the nature of the looped fabric surface. In addition, the printed substance can tend to interfere with the performance characteristics of the fabric. While jacquard weaving and knitting can provide fabrics having integrally formed patterns as a result of variations in loop height and/or color, they are generally less efficient, and therefore more expensive, to produce. Also, where variations in loop height are used to achieve the pattern, fabric performance can be affected.
The present invention achieves enhanced particle pick-up relative to the above-described prior short loop product, without the negative aesthetic characteristics of the longer loop pile product described above. In addition, the process of the instant invention enables the production of patterned loop pile fabrics while avoiding the disadvantages associated with other patterning methods of loop fabrics. Furthermore, the fabrics of the invention achieve performance characteristics comparable or superior to prior fabrics. For example, the fabrics of the invention have comparable performance characteristics to those of thicker pile loop fabrics with superior wear properties and superior performance per unit thickness.
To this end, the fabric of the invention has a loop pile including a plurality of teased fiber loops on at least one of the fabric surfaces. It has been found that this unique surface provides greater absorbance and small and large particle pick-up per given fabric thickness than similar prior pile loop fabrics.
The process involves treating at least one surface of a fabric having fiber loops on at least one of its surfaces with a flow of high pressure fluid, to tease the fibers forming at least some of the fiber loops. The fluid treatment can be any type of fluid treatment including liquid or air treatment, but preferably comprises a hydraulic process of the variety conventionally used on flat woven fabrics.
As noted, the fabric can have loops on one or both fabric surfaces. Similarly, fluid treatment can be performed on one or both fabric surfaces.
The fluid treatment can be performed over the entire fabric, or it can be performed in a pattern, to thereby form a pattern in the fabric. Where both sides of the fabric are treated, they can have the same treatment pattern or different treatment patterns to create a unique visual effect.